This invention relates to monomers comprising a reactive arylcyclobutane moiety and an unsaturated alkyl moiety.
Thermoset resins are compositions which can solidify irreversibly upon heating. Such resins are useful in many engineering applications, such as for example, as coatings, structural laminates, adhesives, films, composites and the like. Examples of conventional forming techniques are transfer molding, compression molding, and hand lay-up processing.
Desirable thermoset resins possess chemical resistance, tensile strength, temperature resistance, electro-insulative or electro-conductive properties and other properties which encourage their use as engineering materials. Such properties depend on the chemical structure of the resin or materials added to the resin. For example, resins comprised of aromatic structures, especially aromatic polyamides and polyimides intrinsically possess thermal and oxidative stability. Unfortunately, the preparation and curing of such resins require the handling of highly toxic and volatile compositions. Furthermore, the resins are difficult to form in molding processes, and are at times undesirably insoluble in many organic solvents.
Another class of engineering polymeric compositions are thermoplastic polymeric compositions. Such compositions soften upon heating and can be formed into many useful shapes. Upon cooling, the compositions harden to the desired shapes. Advantageously, the polymeric compositions exhibit chemical resistance and are structurally durable. Examples of suitable thermoplastic polymeric compositions are those prepared from polycarbonate thermoplastic compositions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,763, poly(arylcyclobutane) polymers are disclosed. Such polymers are prepared from monomers which contain at least two arylcyclobutene moieties per monomer.
It would be desirable to have a new class of monomeric compositions, which are suitable for providing thermoset and/or thermoplastic engineering polymeric compositions.